Polling begins on dull note in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region

Raipur, Nov 14 (IANS)Polling to elect 39 of Chhattisgarh’s 90 legislators in the first of the two-phase assembly elections began on a dull note Friday, while a gunbattle between paramilitary forces and Maoist rebels in Dantewada district of the insurgency-hit Bastar region. Bastar went to polls at 7 a.m. to elect 12 legislators, while polling was scheduled to begin in most constituencies at 8 a.m.

Most polling booths in the region wore a deserted look. Brisk polling was only witnessed at auxiliary polling booths at 23 Salwa Judum relief camps run by the government.

At the same time, a gunbattle began between the Central Reserve Police (CRPF) and Maoist guerrillas at Sukma in Konta constituency in Dantewada district, police said.

The other constituencies that go to the polls Friday include 12 in Durg, six in Rajnandgaon, four in Mahasamund, three in Dhamtari and two in Kabirdham district.